Jones was cleared in January of raping a woman after a night out in Swansea. A jury returned a unanimous verdict of not guilty after a two-week trial.

He has remained suspended from his job since the trial while bosses at South Wales Police carry out a review of his employment conditions.

Elaine Moore, regional officer at Unison, said Jones had harboured hopes of returning to work.

The union has been supporting the HR director since the original trial.

However, the ad for the £78,000-a-year HR director ‘vacancy’ seems to have put paid to his hopes, she said.

“[Jones] is very surprised and very disappointed to see his own job advertised,” Moore told Personnel Today. “He has been through a very difficult situation and this has added to the considerable stress he has [already] suffered.”

A spokesman for South Wales Police claimed the job being advertised was “an entirely new post”.

He refused to comment on whether Jones would be returning to work for the South Wales Police Service in the future.